Polly Sanders-Peterson styles longtime client Debbie Jackson's hair at Sola Salon Studios in Cherry Creek on Feb. 15, 2018. In 1964, Polly was the first -- and only -- African-American student at Denver's Hollywood Beauty College. In a 54-year career, she has received a number of distinguished honors and is well-known in Denver's hairdressing community.

When you call Polly & Co. at Sola Salon Studios to request an appointment, you might get the answering machine. The cheerful voice of Polly Ann Sanders-Peterson confirms you’ve reached her, asks you to leave a detailed message and then adds, “Remember, you’re awesome. And I’ll take care of you soon.”

The friendly voice and supportive message sum up Polly.

“Polly has this loving personality. She listens well. She’s excellent at what she does. She becomes your friend and your confidant,” said Debbie Jackson, a longtime client of the hairdresser.

Jackson has been coming to Polly for cuts and styling for about 35 years — her husband, even longer.

“I follow her everywhere she goes. I truly believe she’s one of the best stylists anywhere,” she said.

Polly, 73, is a familiar name and face among Denver’s hairdressers. She enrolled in beauty school when she was 19 and has a long list of accomplishments to back her more than 50-year career. She’s owned four salons, served as president for a Colorado hairdressers association, played a key role in industry changes and has received a number of distinguished honors, including Coveted Hairdresser of the Year, top 10 Best Hair Salons on Denver’s A-List and, most recently, she was named among the 2018 Faces of Sola.

Polly, dressed in bright colors, sharing a warm smile and armed with easy conversation, welcomes clients to her salon like guests to her home.

Without a doubt, she knew hairdressing was what she was meant to do, Polly said. But her career didn’t come without obstacles, and early on, one of the biggest was her skin color.

When she started classes at Denver’s Hollywood Beauty College in 1964, Polly was the first and only black woman at the all-white school. Her first client there was a white woman who left, rather than let a woman of color work on her hair.

“The manager of the school taught me then, ‘Polly, don’t let people determine your worth,’” she said. “And he told (the client), ‘If you don’t get your hair done by Polly, then you won’t get it done.’ So she left.”

It was discouraging, Polly said, and she knew her path would continue to be difficult. After graduating, Polly couldn’t find a salon willing to hire a black woman.

“In the early part of my career, because of me being the first African-American (in the area) to get into working in white salons, it was difficult to establish trust with my clients because they weren’t used to someone of color,” Polly said.

Even though she was trained to work with white women’s hair, owners of “white salons” refused to hire her, despite her skills. When she answered “help wanted” ads, salon owners said they no longer needed anyone or they assumed she wanted to work on nails, a job that was more common for women of color at the time.

“They would say, ‘We don’t need a nail tech,’ and I would say, ‘Good, because I’m not applying for a nail tech (position),’” Polly said, laughing at the memory.

It was a bleak beginning in which Polly struggled with insecurities, but she persevered.

Almost a year after graduating, Polly was hired at a Hispanic salon. She got a footing in the industry and later moved from salon to salon, honing her skills, developing new techniques and picking up tips from salon owners and fellow stylists.

Soon, her talent became hard to ignore. In the late 1970s, she was asked to train with noted hair designer Michael Taylor, to whom she credits a large amount of her expertise, especially in the area of customer service.

Taylor taught her to give clients more than a haircut, she said, he taught her to give them an experience.

“When I came to (Taylor), I had some confidence then, but he was and is a true mentor and a true developer,” Polly said in a recent interview with Sola Salon Studios. “He latched onto me and believed in me and saw gifts and talents in me and helped me develop them.”

Taylor took Polly to Paris to assist him at a hair styling competition and to New York City to meet renowned stylists.

“He told me one day, ‘If you don’t want to be a 10, then I don’t have time for you.’ He had a heart for developing people’s potential, if you wanted them developed,” Polly told Sola.

Another mentor encouraged Polly to get more broadly involved in the industry. So, she helped modernize the National Association of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists, work that included abandoning the starched white uniforms of older times and integrating salons and barbershops to allow men and women to get haircuts at the same place. In another attempt to push for progress in the industry, Polly offered free haircuts on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in hopes of seeing white and black women sitting side by side in the same salon.

But probably most distinctive, Polly was instrumental in improving hairdressers’ wages, encouraging stylists across the country to forget about tips and boost their flat rate. At national hairdressers meetings, Polly rallied stylists from all states to “charge their worth” and put up signs in their salons with new prices.

Polly upped her own prices by $8-$10 a cut, she said.

“We wanted to be able to say, ‘We have worth and value as your hairdresser. We want to be able to charge what we think we’re worth,’” Polly said.

Despite success on many fronts, Polly says there’s still one change she’d like to see in the industry. She said she still feels like she’s “the black hairdresser.”

“When clients are referred to me, (other hairdressers) will say, ‘She’s great … but you know she’s black,’” Polly said.

When asked if this bothers her, Polly responded, “Well, I am black.

“It doesn’t really bother me,” she added, “because at the end of the day, I know I can do all types of hair.”

Still, it’s something she hopes will change.

“I would like to see more African-American women in this industry become business owners, I would like to see more developed products in this industry for us, and I definitely would like to see some black woman come along who could build a chain like (Sola), because we have the capability. We have the opportunities, the doors and the mentors to do it,” Polly said.

And her suggestion for getting there? Love.

“I think if you respect people with differences, and you treat them with love, we are all going to merge together and there will be less tension,” she said. “Apply love wherever you can apply it.”

Polly counsels once a week at a Denver women’s prison, teaching inmates how to get past their insecurities and rejections. She’s written three books that tackle learning to love and forgive yourself.

This year, Polly will celebrate her 13th year with Sola Salon Studios in Cherry Creek. Generally, she still works 10-hour days, four days a week. She is also a nominee in the “Best Hair Salon” category for the Denver A-List’s Best of 2018 poll. She currently sits in 10th place out of 176 salons.

And if you stop by Polly’s, she’ll usher you in, offer you tea and a York Peppermint Pattie, and you’ll leave not only with a new hairdo, but most likely a tight hug and a bubbly “I love you.”

“The biggest two things I have learned as a person is to really love myself … and learn how to forgive myself. … If (people) can do that, they will be so fulfilled in here,” Polly said, placing a hand over her heart. “That’s the message I want to give the community.”

Peyton Garcia is a page designer and community reporter for the YourHub team at The Denver Post. Previously, she's worked as a lifestyle writer for Denver's 303 Magazine and an entertainment reporter for CSU's Rocky Mountain Collegian. A Denver native, Peyton graduated from Colorado State University with degrees in journalism and Spanish.